A roof and water for the most destitute families
Pang Ol, Ith Khom and Pich Nheop are former leprosy patients living with numerous disabilities.
Like many persons affected by leprosy, they used to live in dilapidated homes vulnerable to bad weather. They did not have the physical, technical and financial means to build quality housing.
As part of its economic and social rehabilitation programme, the CIOMAL Foundation has provided the most impoverished patients with financial support for the construction of homes, toilets and wells.
Pang Ol
Pang Ol was found by a CIOMAL team on the river. He was on a boat. CIOMAL treated him at the Kieng Khleang centre until it was transferred to the Cambodian authorities. Pang Ol is a former leprosy patient. He has developed many disabilities, which affect mainly his fingers but also his eyes, and he was amputated in his left leg. His fellow villagers and relatives discriminated against him and left him alone on the river.
Pang Ol was alone, hopeless and homeless. He didn’t know how he was going to survive until he met the CIOMAL teams. In 2020, the CIOMAL Foundation built him a new house, in which he now lives. He wishes to thank CIOMAL for supporting him and helping him face discrimination issues. His life is better now but he is still dealing with difficulties to procure water as
buying drinking water is very expensive for him.
The CIOMAL Foundation will provide him with a well that will help him survive.
Ith Khom
Ith Khom is a former leprosy patient who has disabilities in her hands and feet. A hard-working woman, she raises cows in the province of Kompong Them. She and her mother used to live in an old decrepit house. Her life was very difficult back then.
With CIOMAL’s support, she was able to build a beautiful permanent new home that is a source of warmth and
happiness for her.
Pich Nheob
Pich Nheob lives with many disabilities in her hands and feet. She and her husband work daily as farm workers when villagers hire them or collecting beer cans for recycling during festivities. They have no land to use as a vegetable garden but the villagers have lent them a plot so they may grow some food. During the rainy season, they fish to catch their daily food.
The CIOMAL Foundation helped renovate their home and toilets in addition to providing food aid. They have also been loaned a cow that will soon give birth. They will own the calf.
The building of a home with toilets costs in average 3’500 USD.
The building of a well costs between 500 and 950 USD depending on the area.
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- Un toit et de l’eau pour les familles les plus démunies
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- Pang Ol devant sa maison avec sa vache et le puit
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- Ith Khom devant son ancienne maison.
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- Construction de toilette pour Pich Nheob et son mari.
Dear donor,
Today, leprosy is 100% curable with a medical treatment. But even when they are healed, those who were affected often continue to suffer severe disabilities. Together with their families, they are excluded from society, lose their jobs and houses, are rejected by hospitals, or are unable to send their children to school. These multiple forms of exclusion represent serious violations of their fundamental rights.
CIOMAL works not only to eliminate leprosy from the world but also to put an end to the discrimination against those that were affected and their families. It is crucial that people carrying the marks of leprosy be perceived as “disabled persons” and not as “lepers” anymore.
Your generous support helps them regain dignity and find their place in society.
